Oktoberfest: Sept. 19-21 at Biggs Park, tickets on sale Aug. 1

MARK LAMBIEÑEL PASO TIMES The beer chugging steins are brought out during Oktoberfest Sunday at Fort Bliss.

REPORTER

David Burge

FORT BLISS &GT;&GT; An agency dedicated to improving the morale of soldiers and their families is moving full steam ahead with taking over the annual Oktoberfest celebration at Fort Bliss.

Fort Bliss Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation will host its first Oktoberfest on Sept. 19-21 at Biggs Park, 11388 Sergeant Major Blvd.

Tickets for the first two nights will go on sale on Aug. 1, said Michele Wiernicki, marketing manager for Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

"Everything is moving along; we will be ready for ticket sales in a little over a month," she said.

Tickets for the first two nights will cost $30 each and will include a traditional German meal and a choice of a liter or half-liter beer stein. Beer is extra. To attend the first two nights, you must be at least 18 years old and be at least 21 to drink alcohol.

The final day of the festival, on a Sunday, will be open to anyone, is free and no tickets are needed.

MWR stepped into the breach after the German air force announced that after 41 years, last September's Oktoberfest would be the final one it would organize. The Germans are undergoing a staggered pullout from Fort Bliss but will still maintain a presence here until at least 2017.

There will be 2,500 tickets available for each of the first two nights of Oktoberfest, Wiernicki said.

Tickets will be available starting at 10 a.m. on Aug. 1 at both Information, Ticketing and Registration locations at Fort Bliss — at Freedom Crossing and inside the Loeza Soldier Activity Center, 20732 Constitution.

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Terry Cavanagh and the Alpine Express, which plays traditional Oktoberfest music, will perform all three days. The Schuhplattler dancers will also perform all three days.

The final day is being dubbed as Family Day and there will be kids' activities, like jumping balloons.

1st Lt. Marco Hauff, public affairs and human resources officer for the German air force at Fort Bliss, said the German community is "excited that our tradition will live on" and added that Biggs Park is the perfect place for the festival.

This year's Oktoberfest will also tie into the 21st annual German American Oktoberfest Night Run which will be held on Sept. 13 at Freedom Crossing. The event raises money for MWR and the German air force's two charitable organizations — Helping Hands and Aid for the Needy.